From The Ground Up
by what-is-a-social-life
Summary: Post-COE, Lois Habiba finds herself in need of a job that asks no questions about why she was briefly arrested for treason. Who better to turn to then Torchwood? Well, first she's gotta put them back together, which is going to be tough, with one of their leaders missing, one dead, and the other due to have a baby any day now. [AU; Inconsistent updating- see profile for details]
1. Prologue

**DISCLAIMER: Not mine.**

 **A/N: I don't speak the version of English spoken in the UK, but I will try my best.**

* * *

After the incident with the 456, Martha had given UNIT her two weeks' notice. The Osterhagen Project- and both the Doctor's and Jack's words- had made her skeptical about the organization.

But watching Gwen's recordings of the Cabinet meeting as she attempted to catch her and Mickey up on the incident made her 100% positive that she was doing the right thing by leaving the organization behind.

Freelance had been fun, an adventure. It was almost like being in the TARDIS, traveling through space and time, saving the world.

Almost.

Mickey had suggested leaving, a day or two after they had seen the Doctor. She had agreed. They were good, the two of them, but they were no Doctor.

And they were no Torchwood.

* * *

She may have been cleared of all charges, but red flags still came up when you Googled the name "Lois Habiba."

Finally, though, after eight months of not getting it, she knew what she had to do. It was the only way that she was going to get a job with people who wouldn't give her the stink eye whenever she spoke.

She had to find Torchwood.

* * *

Rhys saw Gwen when she didn't think he was looking. There were times when he could tell that she wanted a gun in one hand and a torch in the other, ready to shoot whoever or whatever dangerous entity had come through the Rift. She would put a gun in her purse before they went out. She'd always done that, even when she was a police officer.

Now, though? Now it wasn't about safety or Weevils. Now it was she missed going in somewhere, guns blazing, ready to protect the lives of all the ignorant yet innocent people that she had sworn to protect, as both a police officer and a Torchwood employee.

She needed to be able to do that again. He had to admit, he missed his life getting messed up every thirty seconds. The two of them living in their new house, getting ready for a baby, felt almost wrong and abnormal. It was too mundane. He'd always wanted this life for him and Gwen, but he missed the old days.

Believe it or not, he missed Torchwood.

* * *

Jack sat in a bar on an alien planet that he could barely pronounce the name of, if it was even the right name. Alonso had just departed for the restroom.

He liked Alonso well enough. He wasn't Ianto, and it seemed almost too early to have a relationship with him. With anyone.

It was times like this that he understood why the Doctor always ran, why he always had someone by his side. It made adventures more fun and losses either to deal with.

He wanted that.

He wanted some of the only people in the world who could give him that.

He wanted Torchwood.

* * *

Gwen had had a pregnancy scare back when she was having an affair with Owen, and had told no one. She had gathered all the information she could while she waited for her period to come, and one thing she had found was that she could work at Torchwood basically until she delivered.

Well, physically she could. She had assumed that the boys would all have loads to say about the pregnant woman around aliens and strange chemicals and she was sure that someone would magically find a study about how exposure to the Rift would cause some extremely rare birth defect or something.

When her period had come, she was sad yet relieved.

She wished sometimes that everyone was still around, that Ianto was trying to hide the coffee from her, or that Jack was insisting she sit this one out, or that Tosh was going shopping with her for baby clothes, or that Owen was lecturing her about how dummies were better for teeth growth than sucking one's thumb or something like that.

She, sometimes, just wished that she still had Torchwood.


	2. Chapter One

**DISCLAIMER: Not mine.**

 **A/N: I don't speak the version of English spoken in the UK, but I will try my best.**

* * *

"Good morning," Mickey whispered, turning onto his side to kiss Martha's forehead. She rolled over so she could kiss him properly on the lips and wrap her arms around him. "It's weird to have our own bed again, isn't it?"

"Just a little," Martha agreed, "So what are we supposed to do today, now that we don't have to chase rogue Sontarans?"

"You have Gwen's baby shower."

"I completely forgot," Martha sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I haven't even gotten her anything yet."

"You've got time; it's not until tonight, anyways. Did you have something else in mind for today?"

"Well," Martha sighed, running her fingers up his arm, "Maybe we could…"

There was a knock on the front door. Martha groaned and flopped against the pillows as Mickey pulled on a pair of pants and tucked a gun into the waistband. Martha got up, too, and grabbed her own gun, hiding in the closet with the door just open enough for her to see out of. He mouthed an 'I love you,' at her before throwing the door open.

A young girl with coffee colored skin stood on the other side. Her hair was done in braids like Martha's and she had a purple necklace around her neck.

"Are you Mickey Smith?"

"Depends on who's asking," Mickey said gruffly, his finger on the trigger.

"I'm Lois. Lois Habiba. I found your website, and I was wondering: Have you ever worked with the Torchwood Institute?"

"Torchwood?" Martha asked, pushing open the door, "How do you know about Torchwood?"

"I recorded the Cabinet meetings during the 456 invasion," Lois replied, "At the request of Gwen Cooper. I was wondering if you knew her and where I could find her."

"Why do you need to find Gwen?" Mickey asked.

"I want a job. Gwen said that she could give me one."

"Torchwood's over. Ianto's dead, Jack went away, and Gwen's about to have a baby."

"Then I want to rebuild it. I figured it was over, but the world needs Torchwood. The world needs people to protect it from everyone that tries to invade us."

Martha and Mickey shared a glance, and she knew that both of them wanted to say that that was the Doctor's job, but Lois wouldn't know who that was.

And she, like Gwen, would probably like to know where the hell the Doctor was when the 456 showed up, if it was his job. The Doctor was sometimes just too hard to explain, even for Torchwood operatives.

(It was all the time. The Doctor was hard to explain all the time.)

"You want to rebuild Torchwood?" Martha asked, sharing a glance with Mickey. Working for Torchwood, or for UNIT, or traveling with the Doctor meant signing up for a life of chaos and upheaval. Nothing would ever be the same for her, for anyone who rejoined.

"Yes. Yes, I do."

* * *

Gwen waddled into the kitchen, rubbing at her eyes. Being almost nine months pregnant meant no sleep, no matter how hard she tried. At least Rhys was sympathetic about it all.

"Good morning!" he chirped to her as she lowered herself onto one of the stools at the bar. She made a grunt-like noise in agreement and picked up the fork sitting next to the plate of eggs and sausage in front of her. "So, we've got the doctor's appointment at eleven, and this evening is your baby shower."

She practically groaned into her food.

It wasn't that she was upset about the fact that some of her friends were throwing her a baby shower. It was just almost upsetting that this was her life, that she was having a baby shower without Jack and Ianto and Owen and Tosh there to corrupt her child.

The phone started to ring and Rhys went over to it, but Gwen could see his frown as he stared at it.

"Rhys, who is it?"

"Mickey and Martha," he replied, and she was immediately wide awake, two hours of sleep be damned. She started to push herself out of the chair, but Rhys gave her a look that clearly meant 'Sit down and eat!' as he answered the phone, putting it on speaker so they both could hear. "There's a bit of a rift between us, isn't there?" he said into it, and Gwen grinned widely as he remembered the code that they had put in place with Martha and Mickey after their return from their honeymoon.

"Yes, there is," Martha replied, "It'll probably exist for all of space and time."

"Martha, it is so good to hear your voice," Gwen sighed, "Tell me about an alien, please, any one you want. Just make sure it's appropriate for Anwen's ears."

"I'm not here to talk aliens, as much as I want to. I actually have to talk to you about something a lot more important."

"Go on," Gwen replied, sharing a glance with Rhys.

"Do you remember a Lois Habiba?"

"Lois? What does she want?" Gwen asked in shock.

"The job you offered her eight months ago."


	3. Chapter Two

**DISCLAIMER: Not mine.**

 **A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviews, favorites, and follows! They all make me so happy; you have no idea.**

* * *

 _Smith and Jones_ , the website had read, _Alien catchers for hire. Until 1 April, 2010._

Finding the two had been a huge challenge. There were no leases under Mickey Smith or Martha Jones or any possible combination of Martha's married last name, and she didn't think it was appropriate to call on Martha's family. She wasn't even quite sure that Martha and Mickey would even be able to help. She had only found their website because Martha had worked for UNIT in the first place.

It had taken eight months, but she'd decided what she needed to do. Torchwood wasn't back, that was all she had been able to figure out at first, but her cousin knew her way around a computer, and that was how she'd discovered Martha Jones and, by extension, Mickey Smith. She had been in the Cabinet room, so she knew UNIT. She was not at all surprised to discover that Martha was very, very different from them.

It was no wonder she left.

Eventually, though, Lois had hunted Mickey and Martha down, and now sat in the back of their car as they slowly made their way down an old country road, the only sound the noise the car made as it drove.

Lois hadn't heard the conversation that the Smith-Joneses had had with Rhys and Gwen, but she knew that driving out there with her in the car had to be a good thing for her. She needed a job, yes, but it wasn't just that. She'd lived in London for the past five years. She'd been forced up on that roof on Christmas Day; the ghost of her grandmother had turned into a metal creature and held her cousins at gunpoint; her power had been knocked out by that Christmas star-thing; she'd hidden in her flat as those things rolled along outside shouting, "EXTERMINATE!" She hadn't been one of those people that was going to deny the existence of aliens when there was undeniable proof of them existing. That wasn't why she needed Torchwood, to validate the existence of aliens or everything she'd been through with the 456. If she needed that, she would work for UNIT.

She wanted Torchwood- to work for them, to _rebuild_ them- because they were good people. Gwen and Rhys and Jack and Ianto- God rest his soul- were good people, good _protectors_. If aliens like the 456 were going to keep running around, then Earth needed good protectors. Whether she was one or not, Lois needed to know they were out there. Martha and Mickey were great, she was sure, but two people with few resources wouldn't be much help. If she could get Torchwood back, she would feel like she did something with her life. How many people can actually say with, absolute certainty, that they had done something important?

The car came to a stop and Lois was jerked out of her thoughts. She slowly unbuckled her seatbelt as she watched Mickey and Martha do the same. The two walked up to the small house hand-in-hand and Lois followed behind, not quite sure what to expect on the other side. She knew it was Rhys and Gwen's house, and that Gwen was about to have a baby- meaning she must have been pregnant during the 456 invasion, good Lord her respect for that woman had just grown. She knew that Jack was now gone- whatever 'gone' meant, she wasn't sure, but it couldn't be good. She had to admit that the odds of Torchwood getting back together seemed pretty low.

But they were there, weren't they, Martha's hand reaching up to knock on the front door. There had to be something in that.

The door swung open with Rhys on the other side, and it was clear he had a gun held behind his back. She knew he hadn't actually been a Torchwood operative and she wondered when he'd learned to use a gun.

"There's a bit of a rift between us, isn't there?"

"Yes, there is. It'll probably exist for all of space and time."

Lois watched the standoff with curiosity. Martha had given that response on the phone to presumably the same question before the real conversation began, so she assumed it was their failsafe code or something along those lines.

As soon as Mickey had replied, the two boys gave each other quick hugs and Rhys gave Martha a kiss on the cheek, grinning like an idiot.

"How's Gwen and the baby?" she asked, "Has she been staying in bed?"

"Have you met Gwen?" Rhys joked, and the three laughed like old friends. "Lois. It's good to see you."

"You, too. And congratulations."

"Thank you. Come in, the three of you."

Mickey and Martha stepped in the door and Lois, taking a deep breath and reminding herself this needed to be done, followed them.

* * *

Gwen was still eating her breakfast at the bar when Rhys came in with Martha, Mickey, and Lois trailing behind him. She and Martha, who had become increasingly chummy in the past few months despite the fact that Martha had been fighting aliens practically that whole time, immediately hugged each other and began gushing about Gwen's baby shower that afternoon.

"You guys almost ready?" Mickey asked, glancing around the house, which, despite the baby not being due for another week and the shower that afternoon, had already accumulated more baby items, courtesy of the warring yet doting grandmothers-to-be, than a couple without an actual child not in the womb should own.

"Gwen just doesn't want to be pregnant anymore; I don't think she's thought all that much about what comes after. She justs wants to go on a good alien chase again."

"Don't we all," Mickey agreed.

"You just quit freelance, what, two months ago? Are you already suffering from alien withdrawal?"

"Make fun all you want, Rhys, but it is a thing and you know it. The adrenaline rush you get when you're an inch away from dying and there's a rogue Sontaran pointing a gun at you- oh, there's nothing like it."

"Well, I can't say I've ever had that happen," he replied. He knew that Mickey and Martha had a very different set of experiences with aliens than he or even Gwen had had, but he wasn't quite expecting it to be summed up quite like that. "So," he said, taking a step forward towards the girls, who had entered an animated discussion at the bar, in an attempt at interrupting them, which worked. "You came here to talk about Torchwood. Rebuilding Torchwood."

"Yes, we did," Martha agreed, glancing down at her hands. "Lois?"

"The world needs Torchwood; surely you know that."

"We do. It's just not practical for us, not now. I mean, Rhys and I are about to become parents, and it wouldn't be responsible-"

"You're talking about responsibility, Gwen Cooper?" Mickey asked with a chuckle, "What happened to you?"

"I got pregnant and grew up," she replied, "As much as I would love to bring Torchwood back, we couldn't."

"Why not? Mickey and I have contacts, I'm a doctor familiar with dealing with aliens, and Mickey has actually hacked the government and stopped alien invasions. We are qualified."

"It's not a question of our qualifications," Mickey said, "It's a question of whether or not Gwen and Rhys would be willing to try and help us."

"We can't."

"Gwen," Rhys said quietly, "I don't approve of it, but you need it. Desperately. And, well, I wouldn't mind helping."

"So we're actually going to do this? We're going to restart Torchwood?" Lois asked excitedly.

"I think we are," Gwen replied, glancing around at everyone. "I only wish Jack and Ianto were here."

"We all do," Martha replied, reaching out to hold Gwen's hand. "It won't feel quite like Torchwood without them."


	4. Chapter Three

**DISCLAIMER: Not mine.**

* * *

Mickey stood in front of the tourist office that served as the old entrance to the Hub. Roald Dahl Plass had been rebuilt almost immediately, and, somehow, they had chosen to rebuild the tourist office.

It was almost like Cardiff _wanted_ Torchwood back.

"So. How are we doing this?" he said to Martha, who simply shrugged.

"The entire Hub was destroyed in the explosion. The tourist office being rebuilt is promising, but all the equipment will have been destroyed. The Home Office is really our best bet."

"Just because they started overseeing Torchwood Three after the Battle of Canary Wharf-"

"Them and UNIT. Which would you rather deal with?"

"UNIT, probably. At least people there like you."

"I want to go to UNIT as much as you do, believe me," Martha told him. "Honestly!" she added at the look he gave her. "Yes, seeing Kate and Jac again would be nice, but everyone else I'll give good glares to."

"You're adorable. Let's get going then."

* * *

Jack stared at the woman sitting across from him in shock. This adventure she was describing… it sounded _exactly_ like she was talking about the Doctor and maybe that woman, Donna, the one he'd been traveling with during the Dalek invasion. She even mentioned a woman that seemed to share a resemblance to Martha.

God, he missed those two so much.

"This man, your father, he wouldn't happen to be called 'The Doctor,' would he?"

"Do you know him? Have you seen him lately? I've been trying to find him for what feels like ages!"

"I've seen him around, I guess," Jack finally said. "He travels a lot, though."

 _And I have a sneaking suspicion he might've regenerated. Maybe._

"I know. She told me. I just wish I knew how to contact him."

"You could try a message in a bottle. People used to do that, a long time ago. They'd put a message in a bottle and then throw it out to sea, and someone would always find it. So that way, even if he doesn't find it, someone else might and give it to him."

"That's brilliant! I'll- Oh God, is that the time? I'm flying someone to Sto in ten minutes! It was nice meeting you!" she shouted as she rushed out of the bar, leaving some currency on the table in a panic. Jack stared after her in slight amusement. She was _definitely_ the Doctor's daughter.

Jack sat there for several minutes, simply taking in his surroundings, before a woman plopped down in front of him. She looked young, and human, but her eyes were ancient, like the Doctor's. He supposed this could be the Doctor, but he wasn't sure if regenerating into a woman was possible.

"When are you?" she asked.

"What?"

"You heard me. What significant event has happened to you?"

"I met Alonso recently." She nodded slowly, and a look of understanding crossed her features. "Can I help you?" he asked, waiting for some way to identify her. Could she really be the Doctor? She seemed much too… cold.

"No, but I can help you."

"How, exactly? I don't even know you."

"But I know you, Captain Harkness. You won't properly meet me for a while yet, but to do that, you have to be back on Earth. The world needs you, Captain. _They_ need you."

"Who's 'they?' How do you know my name, and how have I not properly met you? Are you a time traveler?"

"They? Torchwood, of course."

"How do you know who I am?"

"I know you very well. It hasn't happened for you, not yet, but for me, it was millennia ago. My diaries are the only record from that time."

"So you're a time traveler, then?"

"An immortal time traveler, yes. Only recently, but yes, I am one. Like you were not too long ago."

"Can I help you?"

"I'm here to take you back to Earth. You just need to follow me to the diner."

"Cantinas not your thing?"

"Captain," she said tensely, "I am not here to flirt with you. I am here to save you from yourself."

"I can't go back," he replied, thinking of Alice's disappointed face and Steven's bloodstained skin and Ianto's lips on his.

"Yes, you can," she promised, squeezing his hand. "You and I will know each other for billions of years, Captain, but in order for that to happen, you have to do your job."

"Which is?"

"Leading Torchwood. Protecting people. Even it's from themselves."

He glanced up at her and, in a split second, had made his decision.

So he stood up and walked into the diner, a TARDIS, he was sure, piloted by the strange woman who he knew was not a Time Lord but wouldn't give her name, and the other woman who was clearly the brains of the operation, who told him they would be refueling in Cardiff, though he was pretty sure a _diner_ would not be as conspicuous as a police box in the middle of Roald Dahl Plass.

All he knew was, somehow, the two knew the Doctor.

And that he owed them a great debt.


	5. Chapter Four

**DISCLAIMER: Not mine.**

 **A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviews, favorites, and follows! They all make me so happy; you have no idea. Also: I don't speak the version of English spoken in the UK, but I will try my best.**

 **I sincerely apologize for not updating this fic in forever! I can promise now that there will not be an update until at least June, since from May 15 to early June I ban myself from writing/posting fic because of exams, but chapter five will hopefully be up by June 6!**

* * *

The drive to UNIT passed in mostly silence between the two occupants of the car, Martha resting her head on Mickey's shoulder as some classical music drifted out of the speakers.

"Any news on Gwen?" he asked when her phone went off and she reached down, digging it out of her purse.

"Rhys says she's been admitted and she's currently five centimeters dilated. They expect it will be a few hours, and they're probably right," she sighed, reading off the text from the number she'd memorized as Rhys's shortly before she and Mickey had gone off on their own. "I feel like I should be there, even though I really couldn't do anything. I just- I hope she's okay."

"I think she will be. She's Gwen Cooper," Mickey replied. While his eyes never left the road as they got onto the Severn Bridge, Martha knew that there was more he wanted to say.

"Mickey?"

"Have you ever thought about it?"

"Children?" she checked and he nodded slowly. "I mean, I did with Tom, but I didn't think it really fit the lifestyle you and I agreed on when we married, because I thought we would be doing it longer than we did. You can't exactly chase aliens with a baby strapped to your chest."

"I think you could have," he laughed, "God, I can see it now. Gun in one hand, dummy in the other, a gurgling baby playing with a little tin dog or a blue police box." Martha couldn't hold back her smile at the image he'd conjured in her head.

"Have you ever thought about them?"

"With Rose," he answered, which was obvious; he'd once confessed to her he had a plan for his and Rose's entire future. "And when we first got engaged, I thought about what a great mother you'd be. But other than that…"

"Yeah," she agreed. "I don't know. We can be happy without kids, though, right? Aliens is enough."

"Aliens is definitely enough," he agrees, "But, maybe someday down the line, kids could be in the picture again?"

"Let's rebuild Torchwood first, yeah?" she replied, "And then we'll revisit that idea."

* * *

"She's beautiful," Rhys sighed, pushing the blankets away from the baby's head. "Hi, Anwen. Hello sweet girl."

Gwen smiled down at the baby in her arms. Anwen Harper Cooper-Williams was considered to be on the small side at an even six pounds and seventeen inches long, but she had all ten figures and ten toes and seemed to be perfectly healthy. She couldn't ask for much more.

"She is," Geraint agreed, kissing his daughter's head. "I'm so proud of you, sweetie. But where does the 'Harper' come from?"

"We just liked the name," Gwen lied. 'Toshiko,' the middle name she really wanted to give her daughter, would have been even harder to explain than 'Harper' to her parents. While she'd told them about Torchwood after the 456 Incident, it had been more the bare basics. They didn't need to know anything else.

"Well, it's beautiful," her mother promised. "Rhys, will your parents be arriving soon?"

"I believe so, yes," he replied, glancing at his phone. Gwen was fairly certain he was looking for an update from Martha and Mickey, or maybe even Lois, who was supposed to be scouting out some old Torchwood One warehouses to see if it was even possible for them to get into to find anything they could use to resurrect Torchwood quietly.

The Coopers soon cleared out, leaving Gwen and Rhys alone with little Anwen.

"Any news?"

"None from her, but our friends say they're not far from London. They're excited to see everything."

It felt wrong, somehow, having to speak in code without anyone around to actually hear them talking, but at the same time, it made her feel safer.

"My mum's here," he said after his phone pinged again. "You'll be alright?" he asked, hand on the door handle.

"Go, Rhys," Gwen laughed. After he closed the door behind him, Gwen leaned back further against the pillows, adjusting her hold on Anwen so she could look straight into her daughter's blue eyes. "We're going to protect you, Anwen," she promised, "We all are."


	6. Chapter Five

**DISCLAIMER: Not mine.**

 **A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviews, favorites, and follows! They all make me so happy; you have no idea.**

 **Also: I apologize for all the gigantic posting gaps with this story. I still have a rather rough idea of where I want this story to go, but I'm working on it.**

 **Again, thank you for being patient, putting up with fairly short chapters, and showing any interest in this story.**

 **Without further ado, chapter five!**

* * *

Lois held up the gun and torch the way Martha had showed her to before taking a deep breath and kicking the door of the warehouse open.

"That went better than I expected," she muttered as she walked in, turning the torch on and shining it into the building. "Hello?" she called, louder, "I'm Martha Jones on official UNIT orders!"

Martha and Lois didn't look _that_ much alike, and Martha didn't even work for UNIT anymore, anyways. She simply hoped this place would be as deserted as promised.

Mickey and Martha were going to UNIT to see if this had confiscated what could be salvaged of the Hub's electronics- which they all knew wouldn't be much, but they were hoping enough to get them back on their feet again. And besides, even if they didn't have stuff from the Hub, Martha said that they'd taken over everything salvageable of Torchwood One's after it had been destroyed a few years ago, and that she still had some pull at the organization.

Meanwhile, Gwen and Rhys were on their way to the hospital, if they weren't there already, which they both considered risky from a security standpoint, but Martha had made it very clear that she would feel safer if they went there. Lois hadn't asked, but she was sure it was because of all the alien exposure working at Torchwood or working freelance, in Martha's case, had to offer. She remembered her biology classes well, all the talk of mutations and mistakes a body could make, how they were more likely to stem from the mother because she carried around her eggs all her life, and Martha was a fully-trained doctor. She didn't at all blame her for wanting to make sure Gwen was as safe as she could be.

She scouted out the rest of the warehouse, trying her best to keep her voice as authoritative as possible. It was empty, and she even found an old computer set in one of the back rooms that looked as if it was from the late 90s. She texted a picture of it to Mickey, asking if he would know what to do with it, and he told her he'd have to take a look before he could confirm anything. He quickly sent another text saying he was fairly positive he would be able to use it and she grinned, sliding her phone back into the back pocket of her jeans.

Everyone else could come out later, she decided as she climbed back into her car and headed back towards Cardiff. Right now, she had a friend to visit.

* * *

Rhys walked into the house with a sigh, flopping down onto the couch. Gwen had made it very clear he was to sleep in an actual bed tonight, so he'd returned home.

Martha and Mickey had sent word that they had arrived in London, but it was too late for them to get to UNIT headquarters, so they were staying with Martha's sister for the evening. Lois had visited them at the hospital and gave a rather detailed report of the warehouse she'd visited. She said that she was going to go home and start drafting inventory lists of everything they had and things they would need, that everyone else could add to over the next week or so. She had also mentioned a proposal of some sort, which he assumed meant that she had plans to ask the government to officially reopen Torchwood.

He wasn't sure how he felt about that.

He wanted Torchwood back, he really did. He liked what they stood for and what they did and he knew it was important to Gwen to have that in her life, even if she wouldn't outright admit it. He wanted to be a part of it, too, even if he wasn't quite sure what he brought to the table. Martha and Mickey had almost as much combined experience with aliens as Jack had, and on top of that Martha was a doctor and Mickey knew computers like the back of his hand. Lois knew the clerical aspects, and Gwen had field experience as a former Torchwood operative.

Rhys had…

A family to provide for. Somehow.

He sighed again before standing up and heading towards their bedroom. He had a lot to think about and talk with Gwen about, and soon.


	7. Chapter Six

**DISCLAIMER: Not mine.**

 **A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviews, favorites, and follows! They all make me so happy; you have no idea. Also: I don't speak the version of English spoken in the UK, but I will try my best.**

 **If you can spot the** _ **Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire**_ **reference in this, I'll give you virtual hugs.**

* * *

Mickey liked Tish a lot. She supported Martha what seemed like one hundred percent of the time, she could always make him laugh, and had somehow figured out a way to cope with the Year That Never Was- spectacularly, he might add.

What he didn't like, however, was her taste in boyfriends. They were all older than her by at least two years, all looked like creepers, and the current one was a very passionate vegan that, apparently, didn't let any animal products into Tish's flat, even though _he didn't live there._

It wasn't like Mickey wasn't used to healthy food; his wife was a doctor, for crying out loud, so every meal he ate was balanced. But all of Tish's food was either rabbit food or weird versions of everything else that made even I'll-eat-anything Martha suspicious.

"So, what've you been up to?" Tish asked the second Griff had left the flat, sliding down into one of the chairs.

"Worrying about your life choices," Mickey said.

"Don't worry; there's a bag of crisps hidden in my tampon box, I go out with Mum to a steak house once a week, and I buy ice cream and hide it in her freezer, to be collected post-steak house."

"Why do you have to hide your crisps?" Martha asked.

"Because he's a mess," Tish sighed, pulling her legs up onto the chair with her.

"Then why are you _dating_ him?" Martha added.

"The sex. Didn't you two only get married because of a pregnancy scare?"

"No!" Mickey and Martha shouted at the exact same time, looking at each other with twin looks of shock.

"Really? That's what Leo and Shonara told me."

"They're ones to talk. Keisha was born when they were nineteen. At least Mickey and I would have our age going for us."

"They didn't get married, though, and Dad's a sucker for grandchildren no matter what. Speaking of, when are you two getting started on that?"

"Maybe once everything settles down," Mickey said.

"What needs to settle down?" Tish asked, leaning forward.

"We're going to UNIT, to try and get some stuff for Torchwood," Martha said.

"Jack's organization? The one that helped during the 456 Invasion?" Tish asked.

"That one, except Jack's vanished," Martha said.

"Vanished? How?" Tish asked.

"That Vortex Manipulator he's not supposed to be able to work? That," Martha said.

"Gwen never said he time traveled with it. Just that he used it, somehow," Mickey reminded her, but she just ignored him.

"So what're you doing with Torchwood?" Tish asked.

"Rebuilding them. I think we'll be permanently settling in Cardiff. I know we already have the flat there, but now it's going to be permanent," Martha said.

"Really? You haven't been permanent since the Year That Never Was," Tish said.

"I'm ready to be permanent now," Martha said, slipping her hand through Mickey's.

* * *

What was supposed to be a short trip to Cardiff to refuel turned into Oswin, the brunette girl who didn't eat and rarely slept, announcing how badly she wanted to visit Qarth during the full moons. That quick pit stop on Qarth turned into a week-long stay and ended with running away from the Judoon. Me, the girl who'd found him in the cantina, and Oswin hadn't explained why they were so interested in high-tailing it the second the Judoon showed up, but Jack hadn't questioned them. They had a reason, and he wasn't going to argue with them.

"Alright. Where to, Captain?" Oswin asked, leaning back against the console. Me was nowhere to be seen.

"Home."

"Cardiff, right? But when's that? 1940s?"

"Twenty-first century. 2010."

"2010? I mean, he talked about you, but I didn't-" She stopped, looking away from him. "Never mind. I gotta find Me; she's so much better at this than I am."

"Oswin, who's 'he?'"

"It's not important."

"It was the Doctor, wasn't it?"

Oswin didn't say anything.

"Oswin-"

"I'm Clara," she interrupted, looking back at him, "My name is Clara Oswald. I met the Doctor when he came to the house where I was nannying and saved my life. I decided to travel with him, on and off. My first Doctor wore tweed and had a god awful chin and thought that bow ties were cool and he had the grace and tact of a fourteen year old. The Great Intelligence tried to kill him by taking him to Trenzalore and jumping into his time stream, so I jumped back in to save his life and undo the undoing of all the amazing things he did. I was split up into echoes, all using different names, living in different places at different times. Oswins, Clara Oswins, et cetera. Then we went to a place called Christmas and everything went to shit. He regenerated because the Time Lords took pity on him, and he became a gruff old man with a Scottish accent that didn't like to be touched and insulted people but basically still needed constant attention. That's my Doctor."

"What happened to him?"

"I died. He spent billions of years in his confession dial, almost ripped apart time and space to pull me out of time seconds before I completely died. Here," she said, grabbing his hand and placing his fingers against her wrist, where he felt no pulse. This was real. He, at least, had a pulse. "I erased his memory of me because he was going to do it to me and I didn't want to forget him. We'd stolen this TARDIS, and then Me and I decided to get me back to Gallifrey the long way around, since my death is a fixed point. We didn't expect to find you, but Me said you looked familiar to her. She checked her diaries and then said that she needed to talk to you. She told me how you hadn't made it to the end of the universe with her, but you were the best friend she'd ever had because you were the only one who sort of understood what it was like to be immortal."

"'Sort of understood?' And what do you mean, I don't make it to the end of the universe?" Was he going to die at some point? Could he be reunited with Alice and Stephen and Ianto and Owen and Tosh and his parents and Gray and Suzie and everyone in the afterlife, if there really was one, though evidence pointed to the contrary?

"I don't know; only she does. But she's very adamant we get you back."

"Why?"

"I guess you help her."

"Clara?"

"Yeah?" she asked, pausing at the door, where he assumed she was going to go after Me.

"Your real name is Clara, and Oswin was just to protect me in case something happened, like the Judoon captured us. What's Me's real name?"

"Ashildr. She prefers Me, though, in all areas of the timeline you'll probably encounter her in. Ashildr is too painful for her. Me reminds her that she is alone, like she feels she needs to be in order to survive."

"Why?"

"She'll tell you someday." Clara shut the door and went in search of Me- Ashildr.

Jack sat down near the console, questions swirling. How could Ashildr possibly be _more_ immortal than he was? Wasn't he a fixed point in time? How had he died? When? What had happened to him?


	8. Chapter Seven

**DISCLAIMER: Not mine.**

 **A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviews, favorites, and follows! They all make me so happy; you have no idea. Also: I don't speak the version of English spoken in the UK, but I will try my best.**

* * *

Martha had Tish drop her off at the Tower of London and made Mickey follow in their car, which would mean maximum space for whatever they could get from UNIT- because she was fairly certain she could get _something_.

She walked straight to Kate's office and walked right past her secretary, who chased her all the way into the office with shouts of "You need an appointment!"

"Hello, Kate," Martha greeted. Kate looked up at her in shock.

"Dr. Jones, as I live and breathe. Leave us," she told the secretary, shutting the door behind her. "What can I do for you?"

"I need access to everything recovered from both Torchwood One and Torchwood Three and permission to return anything in working condition to Cardiff, where it belongs."

"You know I can't do that," Kate told her, sitting back down behind the desk. "Most of it's in the Black Archive, anyways. You're not allowed to go there."

"Then as a companion of the Doctor, I would like to be taken there," Martha replied. "As a companion of the Doctor, I'm allowed to go there."

"For questioning. I knew we shouldn't have told you about that protocol," Kate said, rolling her eyes.

"You didn't realize until after the events with the Medusa Cascade that Mickey Smith had been traveling with my Doctor," Martha interrupted, "So you would've had to have told me when we saw each other."

"Not important," Kate said. "You can't have access to the Black Archive, Dr. Jones. Or, Dr. Smith, I suppose. You married that Smith, did you not?"

"I did- _Mickey_ Smith, saved your arse twice-, but it's still Dr. Jones. Much like how you're still a Stewart after two marriages. Or should I say, _Lethbridge_ -Stewart."

"You've done your research."

"Yes, I have. Now what if I were to spread a nasty little rumor around that it was only because of the Brigadier that you got this position?"

"Are you trying to blackmail me, Dr. Jones?"

"You read my report on the Medusa Cascade events. You know what I'm capable of."

Kate looked at her.

"I'm still not giving you access to the Black Archive," Kate told her, "And you can't enter without me."

"Well then," Martha said, "We seem to have a bit of a stalemate."

"However," Kate said, reaching into a desk drawer and pulling out a piece of paper that she set on the desk. "If I were to leave my credentials on the desk, and then step out for some tea," she continued, standing up and walking to the door, "Then I didn't _give_ you access, did I?"

She left the room and Martha lunged for the piece of paper, pulling her mobile out and dialing Mickey's number.

"Martha? What's going on? Are you alright?" he asked the second he answered.

"I'm fine; I promise. I'm in."

"Really? She's letting you in?"

"Sort of. I'll explain later. I'll call you when I'm there, okay?"

"Should I just stay on the phone?"

"No, I'm already going to be raising enough suspicion by going to the Archive. Probably best I'm not on the phone while I do it."

"Alright. Call me when you're ready."

"I will."

Martha hung up the phone and walked out of Kate's office. The secretary stopped her.

"Ms. Stewart asked me to give you this," she said. Martha took the piece of paper and unfolded it, revealing a map with a carefully drawn circle on it- the Black Archive.

"Tell Kate that Dr. Jones is grateful for squeezing me into her busy schedule," she replied, then scampered off the way the map directed.

* * *

"Rhys. Talk to me," Gwen said as she watched the nurse wheel Anwen back towards the nursery. "Rhys."

"You're going to start working for Torchwood again. We know that. We've both accepted it. You're not going to be getting paid what you once were."

"Probably not. Why?"

"I don't know if I can work for Torchwood. I'm not cut out for it."

"Then you don't have to. Was that so hard to admit?"

"I need to be able to provide for the two of you. Until you're making what you want to be making."

"Okay," Gwen said. "What do you wanna do? Hit up the old job, find a new one?"

"I hadn't thought that far ahead. You're really okay with this?"

"Of course I am. I want you to be happy, Rhys; it's all I've ever wanted."

"Okay then."

* * *

 **A/N: UPDATED 9/24/16: Please see my profile for more information. You can access it by clicking on my username next to the story's picture at the top of the page.**


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